Low turnout casts shadow over new Dresden exhibition

By Staff
DRESDEN GREEN DIAMOND Jeweler Franz Michael Diespach acquired the stone that became known as the Dresden Green Diamond in 1742. It was cut more than 20 years later, in 1769. The finished 41-carat stone was set with white diamonds, gold and silver. SUBMITTED PHOTO
By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
April 27, 2004
A $25,000 grant will be awarded to a Mississippi school that brings 400 or more people to the Glory of Baroque Dresden exhibit in Jackson, part of renewed efforts to attract visitors.
Executive Director Jack Kyle said Monday the money is an incentive to encourage students, teachers, principals and superintendents to participate in the cultural and educational exhibit developed by the Mississippi Commission for International Cultural Exchange Inc.
Kyle said he was concerned about low attendance at the exhibition, especially from cash-strapped schools that have curtailed travel and have students studying hard for standardized tests.
With a total budget of about $9.8 million, the Dresden exhibition needs to raise about $4.3 million from tickets and gift shop sales in order to break even. About $5.5 million is coming from the state, Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau and private sponsors.
Kyle said he hopes that more Mississippians come to see the exhibit.
The exhibit's 15 galleries are filled with such treasures as "The Procuress," by Johannes Vermeer, the Dresden 41-carat Green Diamond that is valued at more than $200 million and Rembrandt's "Samson Proposing the Riddle at the Wedding Feast."
There is also an extensive display of hunting guns and knives, priceless drawings, porcelain and bronze items from the period.
The exhibit marks the time period of the reigns of Frederick Augustus I, known as Augustus the Strong (1694-1733), Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, and his son and successor, Frederick Augustus II (1734-1763), who also was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. It was during their reign that Dresden experienced its most glorious period in the arts.
Dresden is the capital of Saxony, which lies on the south bank of the river Elbe in East Central Germany; it is about the size of Jackson.